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“And guess what I was doing? I ran somebody over with my bus! My whole line was, ‘I didn’t see him, I swear,’ she laughs, “But I was so excited, you can’t believe how excited I was. I went to tell the whole world, ‘I got two lines!’”
Since then, Bassey has featured in three episodes of Law & Order SVU, with her first appearance in 2004, an experience she asserts was beyond her wildest imagination. “I cannot wait to be on the show on a regular basis like every week,” she says with what sounds like a wishful laugh, “I mean that would be my biggest dream. And that’s the aim; I’m not really looking to do film as much as I’m looking to do steady theater.”
But even with luminous lights permeating the lenses of her career, she admits it is a difficult industry. “It’s a challenge for Sanaa Lathan, it’s a challenge for Gabrielle Union, it’s a challenge for all of us. Having roles that are juicy, that’s not your regular cookie cutter what is perceived as black women. It’s hard finding those kinds of roles,” her tone drops as she shares some impediments in the industry.
“I don’t want to be seen just as a Nigerian actress because my emotions in movies and in situations [are] not Nigerian,” Bassey elaborates. “Crying for your mother who died is the same for everyone. The way a Chinese woman cries for her mother who died is the same way a Nigerian cries, it’s the same way an African-American cries. So when writing these movies, the situation is not something nobody else can experience. Emotions are human, situations are applicable to everyone. The challenge is finding roles that just allow you to expand yourself, to improve upon your skill, to challenge you.”
But she flips the disconsolate page to a cheerful one when she says: “I know that there’s someone that’s going to be reading this and thinking of being an actor or not just being in the creative field but is thinking that, ‘I’d love to open a business, I would love to write a book, I would love to start a school.’ Sometimes fear holds people back from achieving the dreams that they have in mind,” she recounts her own journey 10 years ago.
“Anybody that comes to you with a negative and try to say they’re playing devil’s advocate, tell them to take their devil’s advocate and put it where the light don’t shine. Do listen to your spirit because God has given every one of us a purpose and if inside of you, for as long as you’ve known yourself, you feel like this is something you should be doing, whether it’s opening a restaurant or writing a book, one small step at a time,” she adds.
“Do what you have to do to make your dream come true. If it works out, yes, yes, to God be all the glory. If it doesn’t work out, at least you can proudly say, ‘I took a bold step to make something happen for my life, to positively contribute to this world. It didn’t work out but you know what, at least now I know what I can do and what I can’t,’” Bassey encourages.
The socially conscious actress asserts her affinity for self-awareness stems from her upbringing with heavy influence by her spiritual grandmother.
“I can’t do anything without prayer,” she states. “I can’t do anything without God because if it were not for God I wouldn’t be here, right? I’m very grounded in my spirituality; if I lose God, I’ve lost it all.
“For me, my prayer has always been, never ever to start worshipping getting the Oscar, to start worshipping getting money, to start worshipping being famous. I never replace God with anything in my life. As I go up in the business, I want to grow stronger in my faith.”
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